daily incense

Welcome, inquiring minds - The path of yoga is also called Ashtanga Yoga (asht = 8, anga = limbs). But first, what is Yoga? It's not just handstands and roses my friends. Although, spending a day doing handstands surrounded by roses does sound divine.

Yoga is a word from an ancient Indian language, Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a powerful language and was cultivated for use in religious practices, while not used in daily practice/living. I find that very interesting since so often you hear that yoga is not a religious practice. Westerners tend to say that yoga is a spiritual practice so as not to exclude those who aren't religious. But then, why is the language of all the postures from a language used for practicing religion? Hmm, very interesting I say yet I digress.

Back to the 8-limbed path of yoga, which I learned about in 2012 during my first teacher training (see image below). These limbs begin with working through the mind internally and externally as your relate to yourself and others, THEN move into cultivating a physical practice, THEN move into stages of meditation becoming increasingly esoteric until the final limb or stage of complete bliss, absolution, and understanding.

I will bring to you parts of this entire 8-limbed approach in a group class with the opportunity to explore deeper in a private session. In either situation, you're asked to dive into an amazing journey that involves, compassion, patience, and a bit of fiery intrigue to explore the unknown.